Display-rack.



A. E. MILLER.

DISPLAY RACK.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 15, 1911 1,068,925, Patented June 3, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

lmsemo'r COLUMBIA PLANOOR AP)! c0. WASHINGTON, n. c,

A. E. MILLER.

DISPLAY RACK. AiPLIGATION FILED MAY 15,1911.

1,063,925. Patented June 3, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

nun mhymhnn Witmaeca mLUMnlA PLANOGRAPH (10.. WASHINGTON, n, c.

A. E. MILLER.

DISPLAY RACK. APPLICATION FILED MAY15,1911. 1,063,925. Patented June 3, 1913.

1' U 3SHEETs-SHBET 3.

i7 (92 615 Inventor MM-mews W ZZML Horwwg:

COLUMBIA PLANOOHAPH C0. WASHINGTON. D c.

lUNlTlET) @TATE% PATENT OFFICE.

ANDREW E. MILLER, 01? BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR 'IO SOLOMON I-IIMMEL, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

DISPLAY-RACK.

To (17/ llllHl/t it may concern:

tie it known that l, ."LNnmcw l hlirimna, a subject ot the King of Great Britain, residing in the city at Baltimore and State ol Pvtaryland have invented new and usetul lin 'n-ovements in Dis 'ilay-ltacks, of which the following a specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in display racks tor garments and the like.

One at. the objects of the invention is to provide improved means whereby the garments may be conveniently and compactly stored in dust: prooit cases, and yet be .readily accessible tor exhibiting to a customer by a t-ittltSllliLIl.

A :lurther object is to provide iunn-oved means for autoimitically moving the rack back and forth in the case.

it t'urther object is to provide doors 'lor closing the front of the case, and connections operated by said doors for effecting the automatic movement of the rack.

A ttinrther object is to provide a spring motor for reciprocating the rack and means for automatically maintaining the tension on said motor.

A ittlllil'lOl' object; is to provide improved means for locking the rack either in its tor- \va rd or rearward position.

The invention wi ll. be lua-einalter fully set torth and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing:l igure i1. is a top plan view of a case with my im proved display rack therein, parts of the case being broken away, and other parts shown in section. Fig. 2 is a transverse sec lional view of the lower portion or bottom ol the case. Fig. I) is a plan view illustrating the rack and its supporting carriage in the forward position. l ig. t is a longitudinal sectional. view of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a transvtn'se sectional view on the line a- -s l ig. t). Fig. (3 is a detail plan view illustrating the spring motor. Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view illustrating said motor.

Rater-ring to the drawing, 10 designates a case of any suitable or preferred construc tion provided with the glass panels 11 and the doors 1?, said doors normally closing the ilront. opening 13 but adapted to slide in suitable guides 'll adjacent the sides of the case.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 15, 1911.

F: i tented June 3, 1913.

Serial No. 627,331.

The bottom ol the case is provided with a channel 520 the upper edges of which are provided with guides it between which the ear riage 22 ot the display rack 'is mounted to reciprocate. ll will be noted that the carriage is provided with grooved sides 23 which cooperate with the guides 21 to form ball races tor anti-:l riction balls 2stwhereby the t'riction between the sliding parts greatly reduced. Said carriage is provided with a central opening 25 to receive a disk 26, the abutting edges of said opening and said disk being grooved to form races 27 for anti-friction balls 28 indicated in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2), and held in position by suitable cages (not shown) in a n'ianner well known in the mechanical arts. Said disk is rigidly secured to and supports a standard .59 to which the usual arms are secured from which the garments are suspended,said arms not being illustrated. The periphery of the disk 26 is provided with opposite notches 30 which are engaged by a roller 31 carried by a lever 32 held normally against the disk by a spring 2:33. This arrangen'lent is for the purpose of preventing a too rapid rotation of the disk when the garments supported by the rack are being displayed. It will be understood in this connection that this construction is merely illustrative and I do not desire to limit myself thereto as any form oi. locking device may be employed.

For the purpose of reciprocating the carriage back and forth between the guides 21 I employ a motor o't. any suitable or preferred construction. For the purpose of illustra tion l have illustrated in the drawings a spring motor consisting of a top disk ll hav ing a side wall l2, and a concentric lower disk ll) having a side wall. 'l l. A. suitable spring t?) is located in the space termed between the walls l2 and ll and its ends connected respectively to said. walls. The disk ll is provided with a bearing sleeve mounted on a stud ltl and a pinion t? is mounted to rotate on the. stud below said sleeve. A pawl t? is pivotally mounted on said pinion, the tree end ol said pawl. being normally held in engagement with a shoulder elt) by means of a suitable spring. The disk ll is provided with an arm connected by means of a link 51 with the carriage 22, and said disk is also provided with stop lugs 52, 53, in dill'erent horizontal planes. The pinion 49 is engaged by a rack bar 541 slidably mounted in a suitable guide 55 and provided with a longitudinal slot 56. A link 57 is provided at one end with a stud engaging said slot 56, the other end of said link engaging a radial arm .58 on a rotatable pinion 59 supported by the carriage. The disk 26 is provided on its under side with a pinion 6O meshing with teeth in the pinion 59, the pinion 60 being illustrated as just double the dimensions of pinion 59, whereby a single rotation of the pinion 60 will effect two rotations of the pinion 59. It will be understood, however, that I do not desire to limit myself to these proportions.

Extending transversely of the case is a rock shaft provided with a latch 71 adapted to engage either of the lugs 52 or to form an abutment therefor. To each end of said, rock shaft is rigidly secured a member 72 formed with diverging arms 7 3, 74: said arm 73 being provided with a lug 75 adapted to be engaged by a spring hook 76 secured to the side wall of, the case. Each of. the doors12 are provided with a lug 77 whichengages acomplemental lug 78 on the spring 7 6 whereby said spring may be moved outwardly to permit disengagement of the lug 75. The lug 77 is carried by a projecting member 79 whichris loosely connected. to the door, said member being provided with a beveled end 80 and-a recess 81.

In practice when the doors 12 are arranged across the'front opening the spring latches 76,0n each side of the case are in engagement with the lugs 75 of the respective members 72 adjacent the corresponding sides of the case, as indicated at A and B, respectively. hen it is desired to display the goods on the rack the attendant slides the doors along the guides ltinthe usual way, the usual practice be ing to slide one door panel at a time two panels being required to close the front opening. When the first panel is slid back the lug 77 of member 79 at A, for instance, disengages the catch 76 from the lug 75 of the adjacent member 72 and the beveled end 80 of the member 79, because of the slight resiliency ofthe latter, and the re sistance imparted by the interlocking lug 75 and catch 7 (3 at B, will ride over and rest upon the end of the arm 73 as shown in dotted lines Fig. 7. At this stage of the operation the only thing that prevents niovementof the rock shaft 70 is the latch 76 engaging member 72 at the side B. When the second panel is opened, however, the lug 77 of-inember 79 at B, disengages catch 76 from the lug 75 of the adjacent member 72. Thereupon the beveled end 80 of member 79 on the B side engages the adjacent member 7 3 and moves the member 72 into the posi tion indicated in dotted lines (Fig. 7) there by rocking the shaft 70. By this movement the latch 71 is raised out of engagement with the lug of the top disk of the motor. Just soon as the lower edge of the latch 71 clears the lug 53, the spring 15 rotates the top disk and through the movement of the radial arm 50 which is connected to the carriage by link 51, said carriage is moved forward automatically. When the member 72 at B, is rocked as above described, the arm 7 1. of each member 72 is within the recess 81 of its adjacent member 7 9, and the arm 73 outside of the recess beneath the end 80. li hen the parts are in these positions the latch 71 is held in the path of the lug 52 and arrests further movement of the disk ll, whereupon the carriage is locked in its forward position. In this position each arm 72 is locked by the shoulder 80 of its respective member 79 at both A and B. Yv'hen it is desired to return the carriage to its rearward position the attendant moves either of the door panels outwardly. Assuming the door at A is the first thus operated the shoulder 81 of member 79 at A will'engage the adjacent member 7 4t and rock the shaft70, thereby depressing the latch 71, whereupon spring 45 will again rotate disk 4L1. As the shaft 70 is rocked the arm at B is moved to the position shown in full lines, Fig. 7. The latch 71 is thus held in position to intercept the lug 53 as it comes around and the parts will then be in the positions n'iaintained before the doors were opened. "he door B can then be closed, the member 7 9 passing over end of arm 74 as indicated in full lines, Fig. 7. Thus it will be seen that the motor cannot be released when the carriage is in the rearward'position until both doors are completely open nor can it be released'when the rack is in the forward position until the doors have been moved forward. It is the intention to maintain suiiicient tension upon the spring to reciprocate the carriage back and forth, and in order to increase the tension on the spring it is only necessary to revolve the disk 26 and pinion 60 which would ordinarily take place in displaying the goods. in this manner the rack 5-l is reciprocated. through arm 57 and member 59, resulting in rotation of the lower disk 43, through pinion 49, and pawl. 18, thereby increasing the tension on. spring 415. A pawl 82 is arranged to engage a notch in the lower disk {13 when an. ini in]. tension has been placed upon the spring by a half turn of pinion 59. When the carriage returns to its rearward position the link 4" moves the rack and through the latter rotates pinion 4:7 to its initial position, whereupon the pawl 48 will be in a position to engage the ratchet tooth 19 upon a repetition of the operation.

Having thus explained the nature of my invention and described'an operative mannor of constructing and using the same, al-

21. The combination with a case, and doors therefor, of a reciprocable rack sup porting member, a motor for reciprocating said member, and means operated by said doors for controlling the operation of said motor.

22. The combination with a case, and movable doors therefor, of a reciproc'ablerack supporting member, a motor for reciprocating the same, a rock shaft provided with means for controlling the operation of said motor, and means connected to said doors for actuating said rock shaft.

23. The combination with a case, and movable doors therefor, of a rack supporting member, actuating means for imparting reciprocatory movements to said member, means for normally locking said reciprocating means against movement, and means carried by said doors for controlling said locking means.

2 1-. The combination with a case, and movable doors therefor, of a reciprocable rack supporting member, a motor for reciprocating said member, means for normally looking said motor, and means controlled by said doors for releasing said motor from its locking means.

25. The combination with a case, and movable doors therefor, of a reciprocable rack supporting member, a rotatable disk, connections between said disk and reciprocatory member, means for rotating said disk, whereby reciprocatory movements are imparted to said member, means for normally locking said disk, and means carried by said doors for releasing said disk from its looking means.

26. The combination with a case, and movable doors therefor, of a reciprocable rack supporting member, a motor for reciprocating the same, a rock shaft provided with means for controlling the operation of said motor, means for locking said rock shaft, means connected with said doors for releasing said rock shaft from its locking means, and means also carried by the doors for actuating said shaft.

27. The combination with a case, and movable doors therefor, of a reoiprocablo rack supporting member, a motor for reciprocating the same, a rock shaft provided with means for controlling the operation of said motor, a spring latch adapted to look said rock shaft, and means connected with one of said doors for disengaging said latch and subsequently actuating said rock shaft.

28. The combination with a case, and movable doors therefor, of a reciprocable rack supporting member, a motor for reciprocating the same, a rock shaft provided with means for controlling the operation of said motor, said rock shaft being provided with spaced apart arms, locking means engaging one of said arms, and means connected I with one of said doors for disengaging said locking means from the arm in engagement therewith, and subsequently moving the other arm to actuate said rock shaft.

29. The combination with a case, and movable doors therefor, of a reciprocable rack supporting member, a motor for reciprocating the same, a rock shaft provided with means for controlling the operation of said motor, said rock shaft being provided with arms one of which is provided with a lug, a spring latch adapted to engage said lug, and means connected with one of said doors for disengaging said latch from the lug of the first arm and subsequently moving the other arm to actuate said rock shaft.

30. The combination with a case, and'movable doors therefor, of a reciprocable rack supporting member, a motor for reciprocating the same, a rock shaft provided with means for controlling the operation of said motor, said rock shaft being provided with arms, locking means engaging one of said arms, and a member connected with one of said doors, for disengaging said locking means and subsequently moving the other arm to actuate said rock shaft.

31. The combination with a case,and movable doors therefor, of a recipro'cable rack supporting member, a motor for reciprocating the same, a rock shaft provided with means for controlling the operation of said motor, means for locking said rock shaft when the doors are closed, and means for disengaging said locking means and actuating said rock shaft when the doors are opened, said disengaging means including means for looking the rock shaft while the doors are open.

32. The combination with a case,-and movable doors therefor, of a reciprocable rack supporting member, a motor for reclprocating the same, a rock shaft prov1ded with means for controlling the operation of said motor, said rock shaft being provided with arms, a latch for engaging one of said arms, and a member secured to one of said doors and provided with means for disengaging said latch from its arm, said member being provided with means for subsequently moving the other arm and then looking the same.

The combination with a case, and a plurality of doors therefor, of a reciprocable rack supporting member, means for reciproeating said member, a rock shaft controlling said reciprocating means, means for locking .said rock shaft, and means connected with said doors for disengaging said locking means and subsequently actuating said rock shaft, when all the doors have been opened,

the last mentioned means including means for disengaging said lock and subsequently actuating said rock shaft when either door has been started toward its closed position.

34;. The combination with a case and a plurality of doors therefor, of a reeiproca-ble rec rack supporting member, means for reeiproeating said member, a rock sha'lt controlling said reciprocating means, two arms at each end of said rock shaft, locking means at each end of the rock shaft normally engaging one of said arms at each end of the rock shaft, and means carried by each door for disengaging the locking means contiguous thereto, the lock disengaging means of either door being arranged to engage the other contiguous arm of the rock shaft to actuate and subsequently lock the latter after the lock disengaging means of the other door has been operated, whereby said roclc shaft cannot be actuated until all of the doors have been opened or either door started toward its closed position.

35. The combination With a case and a plurality of doors therefor, of a reciprocable rack supporting member, means for reciplo eating said member, a rock shaft controlling said reciprocating means, means for locking each end of said rock shaft, and means carried by each door adapted to first unlock the adjacent end of the rock shaft, and subsequently actuate the latte" and then look the same, whereby said rock shaft cannot be actuated until all of the doors have been opened or either door started toward its closed position.

36. The combination with a case, and a plurality of doors therefor, of a reciproeable rarlc supporting member, means for reciproral ing said member, a rock shaft controlling said reciprocating means, a plurality of arms secured to each end of said rock shaft, means for locking one of said arms at each end, means carried by each door to d isengage said locking means, said disengaging means ineluding means for moving and subsequently 1 locking the other arm of the rock shaft contiguous thereto, whereby said rock shaft can not be actuated until all of the doors have been opened or either door started toward its closed position.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ANDREW E. M ILTJER. l Vitnesses JOHN J. lVAeNnR, [run I ll nn'ur.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). (1. 

